Most grains cannot be stored when they possess a moisture content of more than 15%. While "dry" corn is suitable for animal feed at this reduced moisture level, other grains, such as rice, does not cook well at that reduced moisture level. Accordingly, it is necessary to add moisture to rice so that the moisture content thereof is at the 17% level to obtain optimum cooking conditions.
Current devices and methods for re-moisturizing rice are very expensive (e.g., $45,000) and are not completely accurate, are not easy to operate, and consume considerable time and attention to function.
It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide a method and means for adding moisture to particulate material, such as grains, which is economical to make and to operate; which is fully automatic in its operation; which is relatively fast in its functioning; and which can be operated by an average person with a reasonable amount of training.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.